Seven short films showcasing new cinematic voices from France will screen online starting this Friday, May 15, 2020. The films vary from animated to LGBTQ to absurdist comedy, altogether taking about two and a half hours, which you can watch in the span of five days once you purchase a $12 pass.

My favorite short is AHMED’S SONG, which won the Bridging the Borders Award at Palm Springs International ShorFest 2019. By Director Foued Mansour, the film presents Ahmed, an employee at a public bath in France, who develops a friendship with Mike, a teenage troublemaker. This film is 30 minutes long, in French and Arabic, with English subtitles.

As a teacher, I was also entertained by the third film, entitled TUESDAY FROM 8 TO 6, by Director Cecilia de Arce. This short was picked as Official Selection at the 2019 Cannes Critics Week. It tells the story of Nevine, a high school monitor who is committed to her thankless day job, dealing with teachers, administration & students. Her soft spot for her students gets her into a rather uncomfortable situation. This film is 26 minutes long, in French with English subtitles.

Following are descriptions for the other five shorts in this set:

  • SHEEP, WOLF, AND A CUP OF TEA (Moutons, loup et tasse de thé)

Director: Marion Lacourt

Official selection: 2019 Locarno Film Festival 

Animated film. At night, while family members indulge in curious rituals before sleeping, a child invokes a wolf from the bottom of a box hidden under his bed. Disturbing sheep then besiege the door of his bedroom. (12m)

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  • THE DISTANCE BETWEEN US AND THE SKY (La distance entre nous et le ciel)

Director: Vasilis Kekatos

Winner of Short Film Palme d’Or and Queer Palme at Cannes 2019

Two strangers meet for the first time one night in a remote gas station. The first one fills up his car, while the second one lacks a few euros necessary to get home. They haggle & sparks fly. (9m)

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  • THE TEARS THING (Le coup des larmes)

Director: Clémence Poésy

Official selection: 2019 Venice Film Festival

Florence is an actress & preparations for a new role will challenge her in a way she could never have seen coming…by way of an ex-girlfriend. (25m)

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  • MAGNETIC HARVEST, (La traction de pôles)

Director: Marine Levéel

Mickaël seems to move in a nebula of desires: find his lost pig, get his organic farming certification, stop being lonely. But from afar, Mickaël looks more like a magnet attracted to Paul. (24m)

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  • THE GLORIOUS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH OF NICOLAS CHAUVIN (Le discours d’acceptation glorieux de Nicolas Chauvin)

Director: Benjamin Crotty

Official selection: 2018 New York Film Festival | Winner of Mantarraya Award

During his acceptance speech for a lifetime achievement award, Nicolas Chauvin – farmer soldier, veteran of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, and the father of chauvinism – embarks on a grand monologue, sending him back in time and space. Until, at a bend on a moonlit road, a spectral encounter changes the course of his non-existence. (26m)

 

To watch, choose a link from this page. They should all work perfectly no matter where you live, but they give you an opportunity to support a specific art house. In Los Angeles, for example, you can log on to support the Laemmle Theatres or the Lumiere Cinema at the Music Hall. All ticket purchases help support closed art house theatres during the COVID-19 crisis.

 

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